Connor Wallace-Sims – Professional Rugby Player
- When did you leave Coombe Dean?
I left school in June 2011.
- What did you do immediately after leaving school?
After leaving, I spent the summer training at Ivybridge College where I spent 2 years in 6th form playing high level rugby.
- What are you doing currently?
I am currently a full time team USA 7s player based in San Diego California, but I am back and forth between New York City, where I have been doing a mixture of personal training and coaching rugby in up-and-coming schools in the Bronx and Manhattan.
- What was the highlight of your time at Coombe Dean, and why?
The highlight of my time at Coombe Dean had to be the friendships I made for sure, but also Mr Jacks English; he was a great Teacher, and somebody who I found very amusing and helpful!
- What part did the school play in shaping the person you are now?
I was never the best athlete in school, nor was I the best academically, but the school and certain Teachers just remained on my side, and at times giving me the push I needed to regain focus and to not stray down the wrong path – which at that age is so easy to do! Having my mum there as a teacher was cool too!
- What is the best bit of what you do now?
The best part of my life now is all of the travelling. Rugby has taken me all over the place. I have friends everywhere around the world, which is amazing!
- If you were to return to school now, what would you do differently (if anything?)
If I were to go back to school now, I would definitely focus more on my education, and maybe just be a little more helpful and friendlier to those around me – you never know who might need it!
- What advice would you offer current students?
You have to follow your passions and dreams. The amount of times I was told ‘I would never be here’ just gave me the drive and will to succeed!
